Tonight on “NCIS,” you’re going to be seeing a repeat airing of “Sister City: Part I,” one of the last major times on this show that we’ve seen some sort of epic crossover between this and another iteration of the franchise. Before, that, the last notable time was back early on in “NCIS: Los Angeles” season 7, when Michael Weatherly stopped by for a while as Agent Tony DiNozzo.

While these three shows are all set in the same universe, we do know why we don’t get more crossover events than we do, and much of it starts with logistics. These are shows that film a lot of episodes a year, and it takes time to accommodate different sets, actors, producers, and the like. For “New Orleans” in particular, you have to remember that it doesn’t film near the other two shows. You’ve also got the concern that not everyone watches all three shows (although other series like the “One Chicago” have crossovers all the time), and the other issue here is with syndication. If an episode of “NCIS” turns up on cable somewhere that is connected to a spin-off show, will that viewer have any idea as to what is going on?

Ultimately, there are a lot of reasons why a crossover won’t happen, but there should also be some reasons why it should, starting with getting an opportunity tell some larger stories with interesting character pairings. Putting Pride, for example, with someone like McGee and Sam could be really interesting. You could also cast a really strong adversary who could in turn become one of the most noteworthy villains in the history of the franchise.

Also, consider the ratings that could come along with it. When The CW aired their four-night crossover event earlier this year featuring some of their superhero shows, they ended up generating some of the largest ratings totals that the network’s seen in quite some time. We don’t expect similar records here, but we do think it would get the shows some publicity, which they don’t always get the vast majority of the time.

“NCIS” will return next week with new episodes to CBS, but before we get around to that, we want to know via the comments below whether or nor you think a crossover between the three different shows could work! Meanwhile, head over here in the event you want to see some more of the latest news on the franchise. (Photo: CBS.)